2025 UTME: Parents, candidates seek total cancellation as JAMB admits errors
Some parents and candidates who wrote the 2025 University Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have called for total cancelation of the results.
They also rejected JAMB position to reschedule the examination for some candidates in Lagos and Southeast.
They hinged their position on various complaints about technical glitches that affected the credibility of the examination.
JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, at a press conference in Abuja, on Wednesday, broke into tears as he apologised for the errors in the examination.
He said the unusual level of public concern and loud complaints on the results prompted the Board to do an immediate review of what happened, which ordinarily would have been done in June.
“I want to make it clear that our review and investigation reveal that there are grounds for the complaints about our 2025 UTME results and this press conference is convened with a view to unveiling the bitter truth of our findings openly and objectively,” he said.
According to him, “As part of our preparations for this year, we upgraded our system from form-based to the single item-based examination, the latter of which is the international standard now. We simulated this system, streamlined our Autobot and Autotest systems and still went ahead to develop our own JAMBTEST, a software innovated in-house by a small team led by own staff, Dubem.”
Oloyede revealed that the glitch was traced to a failure in the deployment of updated grading software by one of its service providers.
“The issue specifically impacted 65 centres in the Lagos zone affecting 206,610 candidates and 92 centres in Owerri zone, affecting over 173,387 candidates.
“I apologise for the trauma caused the candidates and I take full responsibility for this.”
The board said a total of 379,997 candidates in the five states of the South-East and Lagos were affected by the glitches in the examination.
“206,610 in 65 centres were affected in Lagos and 92 centres in Owerri zone comprising of 173,387 candidates in the five states of the South-east were affected.”
He highlighted the JAMB’s robust quality assurance systems, including mock examinations, technical simulations and deployment of oversight teams comprising university vice-chancellors, civil society representatives, software engineers and education experts.
“We apologise sincerely to the Nigerian students, parents, and schools affected. While this was not a case of sabotage, the oversight by one of our two service providers was inexcusable,” the registrar stated.
He explained that the affected candidates would be communicated through SMS by today so that they could reprint their slips for rescheduled examinations on Friday and Saturday.
However, some parents who spoke to SentinelNewsNG.com said the best thing is to cancel the exam and fix another date for the fresh examination for the candidates.
One of the parents, Mr Bosun Arowogbade in an interview with the SentinelNewsNG.com said, “JAMB should be realistic about many technical glithces candidates experienced during the last exam. Some questions papers did not complete. Questions one to ten were omitted in some questions papers, do you know the psychological effect of that on candidates affected.
“Besides, the idea of candidates seating for examination at 6 a.m. is bad. Many candidates, considering their age had to sleep in the open field or classrooms to make up with the time.”
Another parent, Alhaji Gbade Ojomu said, “For us to accept the apology and emotional outburst of Prof Oloyede, he must be courageous enough to cancel the exam. Anything short of that is unacceptable,” he told SentinelNewsNG.com.
For Aham Ijendu Chimereze, who wrote at Unique Computer Institution in Owerri, said he would be glad to retake the examination if the errors would not be repeated again.
Another candidate, Uchenna Eme, said: “I was scheduled to write my exam by 6am and the JAMB had to extend it to 4pm and still changed my centre same day of the exam.
“I have not checked my result to know if I did well or not after the story of poor performance broke out, but I don’t mind retaking as well.”
Another candidate, who gave her name as Jennifer, said during the examination, the electricity went off and the network failed.
Hassan Abdul, who took the exam in Lokoja, Kogi State, said it will be best if the entire results are cancelled, so that they all retake it.
The same views were shared by Mercy Obinna, from Anambra. She said no need to single out some centres. “The entire exercise should be cancelled and let all of us retake the exams”, she said.
But there are some students with contrary opinion.
For instance, a candidate from Lagos, Shoneye Neemah Darasimi, said, “When I first saw my result, honestly, I was so proud and relieved. All the late night and sacrifices finally paid off.
“Now hearing that some of the results were reversed, I am shocked, confused, and honestly heartbroken. It felt like the system failed us. How do you tell a child who had already started celebrating that his/her result might not be real?
“The reversal might affect my chances of gaining admission this year. In this country, timing matters. That result was our ticket to starting the process early. Now everything feels uncertain again like we’re starting from scratch.”
Falola Deborah Oluwatunmise, another candidate who sat for the UTME in Lagos said, “As you talked about this review now, my heart just skipped. Like you know, I wrote JAMB and I had technical glitches in my own, like 1 – 11 for me were just answers, no questions, it was only answers. I was just seeing only answers and my own exam questions stopped at 55 instead of 60.
“So, like, God forbid now I’m part of these people that they said we should retake this exam because we put in our best in the last one, and it’s just that people failed a lot.
“The exam went smoothly for me, I actually did my best and I’m okay with my result. But I’m kind of scared. What if they ask me to come back and write this exam again and God forbid, my score is not up to the one I got the last time? I’ll be so disappointed and I’ll really hate JAMB for it and myself too.
“I feel disappointed about the reversal of results and I just hope I’m not among those that will retake the exam.”
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